I am in San Antonio, Texas for a few days this week, attending the Southern Baptist Convention. The above picture represents my thoughts exactly when it comes to religious conventions: KEEP BACK at least 500 feet! I have told my people many times,
The truth is I have been a Southern Baptist my entire Christian life. As the old saying goes, “I was Baptist bred, I was Baptist fed and I will be a Baptist when I am dead!” I hold a Master’s degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I served as a trustee to the North American Mission Board and my wife was elected as a trustee to the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.
I remember attending the SBC in Dallas, Texas in 1985 and suffering blisters on my feet the size of quarters in order to show up and elect Charles Stanley as President. From New Orleans to Las Vegas, there have been many memorable moments with friends at the Southern Baptist Conventions through the years as we enjoyed a conservative resurgence against the drift toward liberalism.
However, in the current environment the pendulum is swinging to the other extreme, which is legalism. There is an increasing drift towards conformity in doctrines that in the past were individual matters of conscience. Such is the way of human organizations.
When it comes to my personal confession of affiliation, I borrow a quote from one of my spiritual heroes, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I liked this quote so much that I had my wife write it in calligraphy and frame it for me. It has hung in every office of every church I have pastored.
“Preachers are like manure. Pile us all together in one place and we stink. However, if you spread us out we will do a good job.”
The truth is I have been a Southern Baptist my entire Christian life. As the old saying goes, “I was Baptist bred, I was Baptist fed and I will be a Baptist when I am dead!” I hold a Master’s degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I served as a trustee to the North American Mission Board and my wife was elected as a trustee to the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.
I remember attending the SBC in Dallas, Texas in 1985 and suffering blisters on my feet the size of quarters in order to show up and elect Charles Stanley as President. From New Orleans to Las Vegas, there have been many memorable moments with friends at the Southern Baptist Conventions through the years as we enjoyed a conservative resurgence against the drift toward liberalism.
However, in the current environment the pendulum is swinging to the other extreme, which is legalism. There is an increasing drift towards conformity in doctrines that in the past were individual matters of conscience. Such is the way of human organizations.
When it comes to my personal confession of affiliation, I borrow a quote from one of my spiritual heroes, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I liked this quote so much that I had my wife write it in calligraphy and frame it for me. It has hung in every office of every church I have pastored.
I am not ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist;
I do not hesitate to take the name Baptist;
But, if I am asked what is my creed,
I simply reply, Jesus Christ!
